What's it worth to you?
by Archemedies
Summary: One day Ruby comes across the proclaimed "Greatest cookie in the world" However, the only way to afford said cookie is to take a summer job as night guard in newly reopened Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. Little does she know the horrors that await. Most likely 10 chapters long. Updates will be sporadic.
1. Prologue: A means to an end

A/N. Hello, Archemedies here with my first story on this site, not however, my first story. I just wanted to say first and foremost i do not own RWBY, FNAF 1 or 2, or any of the quotes, of which there will be one at the beginning of every chapter concerning the events to come. Second, constructive criticism is welcome and needed, but flames will be ignored. And last, but not least, enjoy.

Prologue: A Means to an End.

"You think the end justifies the means, however vile. I tell you: the end is the means by which you achieve it."

― Wilhelm Reich, Listen, Little Man!

Ruby twisted, and writhed around in her sleep, every so often muttering something non-sensical, seemingly about "Giant mecha cookies" This continued as the rest of the team slumbered. That is, until her thrashing sent her from her mattress and onto the cold, wooden floor, with a thud that woke the entire dorm. Weiss bolted upright. "Ruby!" She screeched at the prone reaper. Yang went to get up and face planted back onto the pillow. Blake, for her part sat up, took one look at the world, and lay back down. Ruby shot to her feet, shaking the impact and the last vestiges of sleep from her system. "Sorry Weiss, just a dream, Im fine by the way" She answered from her place on the floor , the last part a mutter. Weiss stared haughtiliy down at her, before slipping from her bed.

"Well, since you've done such an effective job of waking us up, how about we get dressed and go fetch breakfast before the cafeteria becomes too crowded." Ruby nodded.

"Sounds like a good idea. Weiss, Blake, Yang, you coming?"Blake responded with a simple nod while Yang gave a vaugly positive groan.

In minutes, showered, dressed and ready to face the day (Well, three of them were ready) they moved to the cafeteria, and secured breakfasts. Blake ate a tuna sandwich as she thumbed through her omnipresent novel with her other hand. Yang vicously tore into a full fried breakfast, Weiss daintaly picked at a plate of vegtable couscous. Ruby sat contentedly, due to the Triple chocolate cookie she'd somehow begged the staff into procuring for her, which had vanished down her gullet before they'd even left the counter. That is, until she noticed the stall set up across the hall. The team looked up as their leader gave a squeal of excitement and disappeared in a flurry of rose petals. There came a second squeal from in front of the stall.

The crimsonette was staring, starry eyed at the beauty before her. The stall read Vale confectionary, and displayed in the front window was a cookie.

But to call the thing before her a cookie would be like calling the sun a light. It was easily as big as Ruby herself, and contained, as the stall shouted to the world in massive font, every kind of chocolate known to man and faunas kind. All in all, it was a pretty good cookie.

In a splash of crimson she was back at the table. She made eye contact with every member of her team. She lent forward and whispered, "I need that in my life" Blake peered at the price tag. Her faunas sight enabling her to read the small script.

"Its a hundred and twenty lien." She pointed out in her usual bland tones.

Ruby stared at Weiss, the resident money bag. "No. I am not forking out 120 lien for a COOKIE!"

Ruby turned to Yang. "Sorry Rubes, Im just as poor as you"

Ruby turned to Blake. And turned away, slumping.

She bolted upright an idea forming in her scattered mind. "Well I guess there's only one thing for it." She looked around. "I need a job!"

And that is how Ruby ended up poring over the help wanted section of the _Vale Weekly_. However, there was nothing that seemed to fit the bill. Literally. That is, until her eyes locked upon an advert hiding away in a corner. It read:

_Freddy Fazbears Pizzeria._

_Nightguard wanted to work night shift monday to friday: 12pm to 6am._

_Pay is 100.50 lien plus 22.50 overtime for work on saterday._

_Apply at front desk._

"hmm..." She thought. "if I work all five days plus an extra day overtime..." She shot upright "I can afford the cookie!"

And so it began.


	2. Chapter 1: False Prophets

**A/N Archemedies here, with the next chapter of this story. This one is longer than the last, clocking in at 1268 words, minus the authors note. Expect new chapter's to be around this length, or slightly shorter, but, I digress.**

**I mainly wanted to say thanks to Moctheusername, the MAO17,theNeon4471, RWBYFF Fan and swimfeared for following this story, and to ArchAngel 117 for leaving the first review. I'm kind of hoping for some more reviews though. It would really make my day to know what you people think of my works. This is Archemedies signing off on this Authors Note with a hip-hip-hooray and a chim-chim-cheroo!**

Chapter 1: False Prophets.

"Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent"

George Orwell

Ruby sat in the lounge of the pizzeria, flicking aimlessly through the magazines and newspapers that littered the couch. Music and laughter reached her ears. The door creaked open, and a wizened old man, bent with age and walking with a cane. "Hello there, the new night guard I presume?"

She stood, startled. "Yeah, that's me. I applied yesterday."

The manager looked her over, his eyes widening. "Aren't you a little young?" he shook his head. "Never mind, I'd better show you around. Follow me." With that, he turned on his heel and left the room. Ruby followed, albeit hesitantly. As the old man led her through the building he pointed out areas of interest.

"These are the party rooms, where most of the children spend their time." He strode onwards towards the sound of music. And into a room where a group of children sat watching a group of animatronics, the pride and joy of the establishment. The robots stood upon the stage erected in the centre of the room, singing and playing a joyful tune. The "band member" furthest from her was a bright yellow in colour, and built from rigid plastic that gave it an unnatural sheen. It appeared to be modelled after a chicken, sporting several feathers. It clutched a microphone in one hand and an obviously fake, plastic cupcake in the other. Next to it seemed to be some kind of bear, built from the same material and was a dull brown in colour, with a rotund, blocky figure. Closest to Ruby was a rabbit, bright blue and with far too much makeup plastered on its face. In its hands was a multi-coloured, completely non-functional guitar.

The manager beamed at her. "Here they are, the stars of the show. The one furthest from us is Chica, she hands out food. The one closest is Bonnie, he's the lead musician." The rabbit gave them a stare and strummed its guitar. "That one in the middle is Freddy, he runs the show." Freddy glanced at them at the mention of its name.

"I swear, these guys are saints to the kids" They continued out of the room and down the main hallway. As they did so, a large group of kids came rambling out of a dark room with the label "Kids Cove" printed above the door in cheerful letters and pushed past them. The manager gave a sigh and stepped inside, Ruby followed, unsure as to what caused the man's sudden irritation.

The room was almost pitch black but there was enough light to see a figure in the centre of the room, shrouded in darkness. As they got closer they could see it was another animatronic, this one appeared to be a fox. Or at least, most of a fox. It had been torn to pieces and put back together rather haphazardly. What remained was coloured light pink and grey, but not much remained of its outer casing. It was mostly just a pile of mechanical limbs. The manager caught her eye.

"That's Foxy. Or what's left of him. But kids just can't keep their hands to themselves. The staff used to put him back together every evening, but lately they've stopped trying"

Ruby watched as the machine twisted around, to stare balefully at them with its one remaining eye. The robots horrible state of mutilation gave the reaper a deep pang of sadness, for reasons she could not decipher.

They left and the manager led her back to his office, pausing as he moved past the "Prize Corner"

"There's an animatronic in there to, hands out prizes to the kids. I don't like it, find it kinda creepy" The old man opened the door and walked round the desk, sitting down on a padded chair on the other side.

"So, that was the tour, I'm Cyrus by the way" He reached across the desk and shook her hand. "And you are?"

"Ruby Rose, I'm a huntress in training at beacon academy." She responded briskly.

Cyrus nodded and rubbed his hands together. "Well I guess the crew are in safe hands with you then." He pulled a piece of paper towards himself and dredged a pen from his pocket.

"Ok. So you'll be starting tomorrow shift from 12pm to 6am, and working the five nights plus an extra day overtime, yes?

Ruby nodded. "Yes, I'm gonna do that, so then I can get the cookie!"

Cyrus gave her a confused look.

Ruby cleared her throat. "I mean, yes, I can do that"

Relief clouded his features. "Oh, that's great." He stood, and Ruby stood to, sensing the meeting was over.

"Well Ruby, I suggest you go home, get some rest and get ready for your new job!"

Realizing it was her time to leave, the huntress exited the office and made her delicate way through the gaggles of laughing children and to the exit, but was stopped by a hand that shot from the prize corner door as she walked past it, a hand that clasped her shoulder in its velvet grip. She turned to see a white, porcelain face hovering centimetres from her own. She jumped, startled as she took in the rest of the... thing. The polished face connected to a neck of black felt, supported by strips of black leather. The neck connected to a body reminiscent of a sock puppet, covered in a black and purple jesters outfit, the hand which held her shoulder had three spindly fingers, protruding from a baggy black and purple striped cuff that was the end of a similarly styled sleeve. The lower half of its body was concealed by the box that it had seemingly popped out of, that was for some reason had been placed just within the prize corner door.

"Erm...Hello?" Her utterance was more a question then a greeting.

The puppet like being waved hello back and vanished into its box. Ruby stood confused for a second before an old tune began to play.

_Da da da da da da da, da da da da da, da da dadadada, Pop Goes the Weasel!_

The puppet burst back out of its box in a spray of confetti and spread its arms, as if to say,_ Ta Da!_ Ruby giggled, and clapped. The puppet took a few bows, before presenting her with a box, wrapped in red with a crimson bow.

Ruby took the present, thanking the robot as she did so, and unwrapped it to find a plastic bust of the three band members, playing merrily away.

"Wow... Thanks" The puppet gave her a thumbs up and vanished into its box. As she left the building, Ruby clutched the bust to her chest and wondered about the thing in the prize corner. She took a look at the box the "Gift" had come in. The label read in embossed text:

_The Marionette: From me to you._  
><em>That means you Ruby.<em>

She didn't get much sleep that night.


	3. Chapter 2 A Nightly Routine

**A/N: Hello, and sorry for the delay in the posting of this newest chapter. Seems real life has finally caught up with me. Ive been typing away furiously whenever I can get access to a computer, but those moments of access are few and far between. But, i've maneged to get a 2000+ words chapter out for all you lovely readers out there. As always, thanks to all the people who've read, followed, favorited and reviewed this story. And to all you 5naf fans out there, Im sorry if this chapter seems a little slow paced but I wanted to take my time detailing Rubys first night. And, in answer to 31's review, the puppet will have a rather large part to play in this story. What part however, is not a discussion for this time and place. Now, on with the story!**

Chapter 3: A Nightly Routine.

"I like having a routine, because everything else... is so unpredictable.

Jordana Brewster

Ruby woke to the shrill sound of her alarm, turned down and placed next to her head as not to wake the others, who all slept peacefully. Weiss lay perfectly still even paler than normal under her covers. Blake was curled up tight, face pressed into the pillow, while Yang had thrown the covers off herself and on to the floor, and lay half on and half off the bed, smiling contentedly. Ruby sighed, rolled out of bed and reached for her alarm, pulling it close to her face in order to read the luminous figures.

_11:00_

Ruby gave a groan. According to Cyrus, her shift started in an hour, so she had to get up.

She left the bed, and quickly showered and dressed, before leaving the room and quietly shutting the door, before leaving the academy and beginning the walk into Vale.

Ruby entered the pizzeria and found a note placed upon the receptionist's desk. She picked it up, curiosity piqued. It read:

_Hello._

_As the new night guard at Freddy Fazbears pizzeria, you'll be working from the security office, marked here._

Below the writing was a floor plan of the building, with the security office marked in red. Ruby turned the note over, expecting more of an introduction. However, the other side, was blank, and with no other greeting forthcoming, the huntress in training proceeded to the security office looking at her watch as she walked.

_11.40_

Ruby kept walking, and as she came up the corridor towards the office, she saw the day guard strolling the other way, having seemingly just finished his shift. She gave him a nod and a friendly smile, and he smiled back, before moving out of sight around the corner.

Ruby strode down the corridor, noticing the lack of doors, and slide round the desk before plonking herself down in the padded chair, after removing the small tablet device which had been placed on the seat that is. She got herself comfortable before switching on the tablet. She then realized the tablet gave her access to several camera views around the building. She jumped straight up off the chair when a small device on the desk began to play a dialling tone. After a few seconds of ringing, there was a click and the device began to play.

_"Uh, hello? Hello, hello? Uh, hello and welcome to your new summer job at the new and improved Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Uh, I'm here to talk you through some of the things you can expect to see during your first week here and to help you get started down this new and exciting career path"_

Ruby sat forward, intrigued.

_"Uh, now, I want you to forget anything you may have heard about the old location, you know. Uh, some people still have a somewhat negative impression of the company. Uh... that old restaurant was kind of left to rot for quite a while, but I want to reassure you, Fazbear Entertainment is committed to family fun and above all, safety. They've spent a small fortune on these new animatronics, uh, facial recognition, advanced mobility, they even let them walk around during the day. Isn't that neat? _*ahem*_ But most importantly, they're all tied into some kind of criminal database, so they can detect a predator a mile away. Heck, we should be paying them to guard you"_

_"Uh, now that being said, no new system's without its... kinks" _

A small bolt of alarm spread through her body at those words.

_"Uh... you're only the second guard to work at that location. Uh, the first guy finished his week, but complained about... conditions. Uh, we switched him over to the day shift, so hey, lucky you, right? Uh mainly he expressed concern that certain characters seemed to move around at night, and even attempted to get into his office."_

This caused the young girl to snap her head up, to stare down the dark-shrouded corridor.

_"Now, from what we know, that should be impossible. Uh, that restaurant should be the safest place on earth. So while our engineers don't really have an explanation for this, the working theory is that... the robots were never given a proper "night mode". So when it gets quiet, they think they're in the wrong room, so then they go try to find where the people are, and in this case, that's your office. So our temporary solution is this: there's a music box over by the Prize Counter, and it's rigged to be wound up remotely. So just, every once in a while, switch over to the Prize Counter video feed and wind it up for a few seconds. It doesn't seem to affect all of the animatronics, but it does affect... one of them.*ahem* Uh, and as for the rest of them, we have an even easier solution. You see, there may be a minor glitch in the system, something about robots seeing you as an endoskeleton without his costume on, and wanting to stuff you in a suit, so hey, we've given you an empty Freddy Fazbear head, problem solved! You can put it on anytime, and leave it on for as long as you want. Eventually anything that wandered in, will wander back out"_

_"Uh, something else worth mentioning is kind of the modern design of the building. You may have noticed there are no doors for you to close, heh. But hey, you have a light! And even though your flashlight can run out of power, the building cannot. So, don't worry about the place going dark. Well, I think that's it. Uh, you should be golden. Uh, check the lights, put on the Freddy head if you need to, uh, keep the music box wound up, piece of cake. Have a good night, and I'll talk to you tomorrow" _

Ruby took one last look down the corridor, scooped up the tablet, and got to work.

_12:00am_

The first thing she did was to check the camera which gave her a view of the show stage, and seeing that all the animatronics that should be there were there, managed to shake off some of her unease over the phone guys message. Some. Not all. While he seemed to have tried to make her comfortable in her new job, he had done quite the opposite.

_1:00am_

An hour later, Ruby was bored out of her wits, and absent mindedly scrolling through the cameras, and every so often rewinding the music box, when she noticed a camera view far off to the left of the floor plan which was displayed in the bottom right of the tablets screen. Curious, Ruby selected it to find that, like all the views, it had a label at the top of the screen detailing its location. This screen was titled:_ PARTS & SERVICE_

It was very dark, and so Ruby activated the built in flashlight on the camera. What she saw gave her a fright. The room appeared to contain animatronics, but this were in a terrible state of disrepair. The music box alert began to flash on her monitor and she switched to the correct camera and rewound it, before going back to the parts room. They seemed like older models of the four robots she'd been introduced to, but were badly damaged. Slumped against the far wall, directly opposite the camera, was a far bulkier version of the mechanical rabbit, Bonnie. However, she was judging this from the blue colour and rabbit ears, as the entire front of its head, from the jaw upwards, was missing, leaving a gaping hole, full of exposed circuitry and ringed by jagged metal. It also suffered from several gashes in its casing, which seemed to be made of metal rather than plastic. Laying on the ground seemed to be an older Freddy Fazbear, splattered with oily fluid and with one eye turned toward the camera. A pair of cracked and rusted feet, which, due to their almost offensively yellow colour, Ruby guessed to belong to the old Chica, were just in view of the camera. An old Foxy however, was nowhere to be seen.

_2:00am_

Ruby, somewhat uneasy at the bots blank stares, flicked back to the show stage camera and almost had a heart attack.

_The rabbit was gone._

Ruby almost dropped the tablet, and leapt for it clumsily, barely managing to catch it before it slammed to the ground. She fumblingly brought it back to her view, and began tearing through the camera views in order to find the missing guitarist, only to find it standing casually in party room number four, motionless and with guitar in hand. It remained that way for a while, and the huntress in training soon settled in to a pattern, a routine if you will, of checking the show stage, flicking onto the parts and service view, rewinding the music box, and then as quickly as possible getting back to the rabbit. After some time of repeating this, she paused her movements to check the clock on her screen.

_4:00am_

As she flicked through the cameras, she heard a strange, childlike giggle. Ruby swept through the cameras to find the source of the noise, as it did nothing for her morale. As she turned to the camera for the game room, to where the animatronic who hands out balloons spent its time, she realized her mistake. Flipping back through the views, she stopped as she noticed Chica in the main hallway. It had discarded its beak, showing a ring of teeth, and was staring at the camera. Bonnie had moved, and now was crouched next to an opening in the buildings ventilation system. Ruby looked at the now open vent. And then at the vent which opened into her office.

_Oh good Monty no._

She quickly switched back to the prize corner camera and rewound the music box, in the darkness making out a shape topped by a familiar porcelain mask slip back into its box. She shuddered, dreading to think of what could happen if it ever fully left its box. She was snapped out of her premonitions by a strange thumping noise. It almost seemed as though...

_Something's in the vents._

That sudden realization brought her gaze to the vent. With trembling hands, she hit the light switch for the vents that would spill merciful light into the darkness.

A pair of emerald green eyes stared at her from the tunnel.

The great crimson huntress, star of her year, gave a very dignified shriek and dropped her tablet.

_Oh Monty, Freddy head, Freddy head, Freddy head!_

She hit the glowing red button affixed to the office table which dropped a heavy, dark weight onto her head, gaining another squeal. Once she aligned her eyes with the corresponding holes, she was greeted with a heart stopping sight. In that short period of disorientation, the plastic rabbit had made its way into the room with her. She stayed, statue still, as the bunny stared down at her in her seated position, before turning and walking out of her field of vision. She dared not move to follow it as a resounding thumping could be heard, presumably it getting back in the vents. Ruby stayed that way until a frantic beeping from her monitor spurred her into movement. As she reached down to pick up her tablet, the beeping stopped. She checked the map to find a red warning sign next to the prize corner.

_She couldn't hear the music._

With that revelation, her stomach seemed to drop through the floor. She quickly switched to the prize corner view to find the box was empty, the lid lying discarded on the ground. A twisted tune began to play from down the dark corridor, slow and distorted, but still recognizable.

_Da da da dadadadada da, da da da da,dadadadada_

_Beep beep beep._

Ruby's eyes shot to the clock on her monitor, which read,

_6:00am_

She breathed a sigh of relief, and looked down the corridor, where the music had stopped. Reluctantly, she stood from her chair and crept down the corridor as the lights all over the building flickered into life. As she walked, her foot impacted something, which slid away. She leapt forward and seized it before it could skitter away any further down the corridor. It was another present, this one was pure black and tied with a ribbon much resembling the one worn by her novella obsessed team mate. She opened it to find a black bound book, the title, outlined in red thread, read:

_A puppet's tale._

Ruby, curiosity winning out over her common sense, opened the book, to find pages of densely packed writing, picked out in the same vivid red as the rest of the books text. At a glance, it was too much to take in, so she shoved it into her pocket and left the building with rather more haste than she'd entered it.


	4. Intermission 1: A Discussion

**A/N Archemedies here, and the first thing Im going to say is, sorry for the delay, with the end of term at my school, and some last minute christmas shopping, I haven't had much time to write. And do understand I do not own RWBY or 5NaF, or any of the media I with that out the way, I wanted to say how happy I was to find Zirroh, an amazing authour and the writer who inspired me to FanFiction, had read my story and left a review. Excuse me while I sqee.**

Intermission 1: A discussion, and a Quistion.

"Did I ever tell you, the definition of insanity?"

-Vaas Montenegro, Far Cry 3.

Ruby strode back into team RWBY's shared dorm room, and flopped face down into a bed, only to be pushed from it by a firm shove from the team's resident ice queen.

"You should know that's not your bed by now Ruby, now get to your own if you want to sleep."

Ruby looked up, too exhausted by a long day of lessons to even contemplate dragging herself up and into her top level bunk bed. Yang promptly reached down and picked her up off the floor with seemingly no effort, and then slapped her on the back with such force it almost put her on the ground again.

"C'mon Rubes, you gotta get some rest if you're gonna do your job right"

The reluctant warrior gave a groan and reaching up, grabbed the corner post of Weiss's bed to pull herself from the ground, and turning to her team as she did so.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to talk to you guys about something."

They turned to her, listening attentively.

"While I was working yesterday, I…. found this"

With that, she pulled the book from her pocket and held it up for them to see.

Blake reached forward and pulled it from her grasp, before flicking through it quickly, and looking up at Ruby with confusion… and alarm.

"Ruby, this story is…. weird, and kinda creepy. From the first couple of chapters, it's about a kid who gets murdered, by a man in purple….. But the rest of the story is indecipherable, and I have to say it's very graphic. Ruby, where did you find this?"

Ruby quickly thought of an excuse for her discovery.

"I erm… found it on my desk, while I was working…yeah, that's it"

For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to speak of her experience. It wasn't that she didn't want to, she just….couldn't.

Blake gave her a critical look, obviously not buying it. She continued flipping through the book, and as she reached the back cover, a small black card fell from the book, with writing of white print. The assassin reached down and picked it from the floor, and read the message upon it.

_This book Isn't for the child, but for you._

_Remember Blake, curiosity killed the cat, and satisfaction can't always bring it back._

Blake looked around the room, startled, and tucked the book and the note under her cover, before returning to the conversation, which went on. Nobody had noticed.

Yang was shrugging. "It was probably just some story the day guard left behind"

Weiss was not amused. "What kind of idiot would bring something like that into a children's establishment!"

Yang turned "Calm down ice queen, or ya gonna melt!"

Weiss gave a dignified huff and got into her bed. "Well, it's still wrong."

Yang entered her own. "Never said it was right"

Blake looked across to see Ruby already in her bed and sleeping.

Seeing the rest of her team quiet and sleeping, she flicked her bedside lamp on and pulled the book from its place beneath her covers.

Putting it under the lights beam, she opened it and began to read.

_I ran. It was a stupid decision, and something I would soon regret. I ran from my mother's embrace, deserting her and sealing my fate. And all over a simple ice cream. I sprinted from her, and wove my way between the cars. I was soon lost. I headed to a place Id loved all my childhood. A place which would be my end. Id found my way to Fredbears family diner, but had no money to get in. I stood at the window, and looked through the glass, loath to return to my mother and her drunken rages. But then a car pulled up. A man, dressed in purple from head to toe, walked towards me. As he neared me, he pulled a shining blade from within his greatcoat, and I turned, and began to bang on the glass, hoping, praying for someone to save me. I turned to check the man's proximity, when there was a flash of metal, and a great pain in my chest. I looked down, as the knife was pulled from my chest, and I turned, slumping against the glass wall, smearing it with my blood. As the bear that gave the diner its name stared me in the eye, I felt my life leave me. I fell to the ground, and as my vision blurred, my eyes fixed upon a small box, placed outside a fire exit. The box was open, and a white, porcelain face stared at me from within. And then, the puppet blinked._

The rest of the book was full of red, meaningless squiggles. Blake sat back, thoroughly disturbed by what she had just read. She turned out the light, lay down and fell to a troubled sleep.

_The puppet returned to its box, after bursting from it and handing the required prizes to the children. It made it so happy to bring joy to the the children. The children. The adults. Its happiness turned from honey to venom. Insane. All of them, insane. The employees worked in dead end jobs, doing the same thing over and over, thinking things would change. The children sat, waiting for him to leave his hideaway, and still were surprised when he jumped from the box, as if just that once, he might not come out. The marionette wasn't insane. It expected things to change. But it had just the people to make those changes happen. Four people. It gave a short titter. No, it was not insane. Some people managed to go straight through the madness, out to the other side. They pushed through the fires of madness, and found a compressed, ice cold core of sanity. _

_But the Marionette hadn't done that. It couldn't have. Robots arn't people, right?_

_Right?_


	5. Chapter 3 Adapt and Survive

**A/N Hello readers, Archemedies here with the next chapter. If you checked my profile lately, you've read the update I placed there. But, for those who did not see that short message, I will reiterate it here. I am at the moment suffering severe computer troubles, of the hot, smoky, burnt circuit's kind. I've written this A/N and most of this chapter on a computer belonging to TheNeon4471, a good friend of mine in real life, and artist of the soon-to-be cover image of this story, which will be up if and when he finishes it. So yes, thanks to him and all of you people who read, reviewed, followed and favourited this sorry excuse for a story. Now, without further ado, here's the chapter. Enjoy, and follow/review/favourite if you think this chapter deserves it. **

Chapter 4. Adapt and Survive.

"As human beings, we have the blessing and the curse that we're able to adapt to almost anything. No matter how extreme the circumstances you're in, they become normal"

-Kevin Powers

Ruby left the taxi that had pulled up outside the diner, paid and tipped the driver, and entered the building. Her watch read _11:00. _She'dintentionally left early in order to catch the manager before he left for the day. She was going to have _words_ with him. She knocked on the management's office door, and strode inside, full of righteous fury, ready to shout his ear off-

_Don't tell him._

Ruby stopped, her thoughts crashing to a halt as her head snapped round, searching for the source of that voice.  
>"Hello? Is there a problem?" Cyrus's voice brought her back to her wits.<p>

She brought her attention back to Cyrus, to say what she'd come in to say... What had she come in to say? Erm...

"Say...I... Heard giggling last night, while I was working, what was that?" She couldn't help but think she'd said something far from what she'd been going to say.

Cyrus laughed. "Oh, that was probably just BB, hold on, I'll show you him"

They made their way through the building and into the diners game area, a place she'd only seen on the cameras once, and then, not for very long. It contained several arcade style game machines, and, off to the left, a small, child-like animatronic, brightly coloured. It was short, just reaching Ruby's armpits, and had its arms outstretched, in one hand it carried a bundle of balloons, and in the other a sign, which exclaimed, rather enthusiastically: _BALLOONS!_

Cyrus patted it on the head. "This is BB, he doesn't really have a name, so everyone just calls him Balloon Boy. He hands out balloons. Hold on, I'll get him running"

He walked round behind the robot and began to fiddle. Ruby stepped closer, before leaping backwards as the bot whirred to life.

"Well hiya Cyrus, how are ya?" It spoke with a high pitched voice, before its eyes locked with Ruby's.

"And who are you? Are you happy? Are you not happy? Oh no, you're not happy are you, if I gave you a balloon, would you be happy?" It took a balloon from its bundle and held it out imploringly.

Ruby couldn't help but take the balloon from the earnest bot.  
>"Err... thanks BB" Feeling more was needed, she reassured the bot. "I'm happy now"<p>

"Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy-"

Its exclamation was cut short as Cyrus turned it off at the control panel located in the small of its back.

"Sorry to halt your conversation, but its best to keep them off when there not needed."

Ruby nodded, walking with him back to his office, but she felt there'd been something...wrong with Cyrus's explanation.

They'd reached Cyrus's office when her brain kicked into gear.

"Oh, hey Cyrus, how come, if it's better to turn them off, why are they left to roam at night?"

Cyrus stopped for a second. "Errr... They have to be left on... to stop there servos seizing up... yeah, that's it. Oh, look at the time, I should be going, bye!"

With that he made haste to the exit.

Ruby got the definite feeling she was being made a fool of, but the cookie was riding on this, she couldn't turn back now. She checked her watch, and the luminous figures read: _11:50._ She gave a sigh and moved to her office. She pulled the tablet to her lap, and sat up straight in her seat, and checked her watch. _11:59._ Time for work.

Ruby wasn't surprised when the device on her desk began to ring.  
><em>*Click*<em>

_"Ah...hello, hello! Uh, see, I told you your first night wouldn't be a problem. You're a natural!_

_"Uh, by now I'm sure you've noticed the older models sitting in the back room. Uh, those are from the previous location. We just use them for parts now. The idea at first was to repair them...uh, they even started retrofitting them with some of the newer technology, but they were just so ugly, you know? And the smell...uh, so the company decided to just go in a whole new direction and make them super kid-friendly. Uh, those older ones shouldn't be able to walk around, but if they do, the whole Freddy head trick should work on them too, so, whatever"_

_"Uh...heh...I love those old characters. Did you ever see Foxy the pirate? Oh wait, Foxy... Oh yeah, Foxy! Uh, hey listen, that one was always a bit twitchy, uh... I'm not sure the Freddy head trick will work on Foxy, uh. If for some reason he activates during the night and you see him standing at the far end of the hall, um, just flash your light at him from time to time. Those older models would always get disoriented with bright lights. It would cause a system restart, or something"_

_"Uh, Anyway, I'm sure it won't be a problem. Uh, have a good night, and talk to you tomorrow"_

"Ok... Let's do this."

She sat, checking the cameras all across the building, and winding up the music box when needed. Her clock hadn't even reached _1:00 _when the toy like rabbit left the stage, and moved into the third party room. She huffed in annoyance and continued splitting her time between watching it and winding the box. That is, until the yellow automaton, Chica, appeared in the main hall. Somehow, at some point, the figure had lost its beak, revealing sharp, human-like teeth, and its eyes had turned a glossy black, making it seem far more eerie. However, it, for now at least, was not inclined to move from its spot.

_1:00_

Ruby kept repeating her pattern, until the toy Bonnie moved into party room 4. She only noticed his move when she checked that room's camera, and was startled to find that the rabbit had pressed its face to the lens, emerald eyes gleaming in the dark. She clicked onto the main hall camera to find that Toy Chica had gone. She couldn't find it on any of the cameras, and then a sudden bolt of fear tore through her system. If it wasn't on the cameras...She snatched up the flashlight and sent a ray of light down the tunnel, to find the robot standing at the far end of the hallway, a bright pink cupcake in hand. She slammed her hand down on the button which dropped the head down onto her, and the button performed just as expected. She sat stock still with the impromptu helmet on her head until footsteps echoed through the corridor. She removed the Freddy head and switched on her flashlight to find the corridor empty. She sighed in relief, wound the music box and continued her night.

_2:00_

Ruby forged onwards, keeping watch on the animatronics, until her mind wandered back to what the phone guy had said about the old animatronics. This jogged her memory of the parts and service camera, which she checked, only to find that the withered Bonnie was nowhere to be found, and in its place a dark, shadowy figure, which faded before she could make out what it actually was. Ruby shook her head and put it down to a trick of the light. Trick or not, it didn't change the fact the damaged bot was gone.

_3:00_

Ruby found the robot standing in the main hall, in the door way of the parts and service room, red pinpricks of light glowing in its eyeless sockets. The sight of it chilled her to her core. She watched it for a few, stuttering heartbeats, before the tablet beeped, bringing her attention to the music box. She wound it, checked the cameras to find all but the toy rabbit remained in their places. She checked the vents camera and found it on its hands and knees, partway through the system, and moving toward the office. However, she couldn't dwell on that too long, as loud thumping footfalls reverberated down the corridor. She flashed the light down the long walk, and found the automaton staring at her from just outside the office. Fear flooded through her and she put the head on. But almost as soon as she did so, the monitor began to bleep, vying for her attention. The music box was running down. But she couldn't take the helmet of or the rabbit would get her.

_Oh Monty, what could she do!_

Soon the box would run down. Hopefully, the bot would leave, and she could wind the box. But then Bonnie stepped inside, vacant eye sockets fixed on the tablet. The beeping seemed to have captured its attention. But soon, the beeping stopped.

"Oh god, is it coming…" Ruby whispered to herself. And the robot snapped its gaze back to her. It stood like that for a few seconds, before turning and leaving the office. The beeping began again, before stopping quickly.

_The Puppet took its three fingered hand from the music boxes handle, and sank back into its box, an ever present smile on its face. Tick tock tick tock, pay attention little one. Or this will end far too quickly. _

_5:00_

Ruby snatched up the tablet and quickly flipped to the prize corner camera, to find the music box almost fully wound up.

"What….. Oh, I'm not gonna question it"

The rest of the night passed uneventfully, the withered bunnie had moved to party room 1. Chica had gone back to the main hall. Toy bonnie stayed staring at the camera in party room 4. No other animatronic moved. Her clock chimed.

_6:00_

Ruby let out a relieved breath, and left the office. All the bots had moved back to their places, and for that she was grateful. She walked quickly to the exit, a walk that turned into a sprint. She didn't stop running until she reached her beacon dorm.


	6. Intermission 2 Perchance to Dream

**A/N: Hello, Archemedies here with the second intermission, and only a day after the last chapter! (Shock,Horror) So, anyway this is my first attempt at a dialogue heavy chapter, and let me just say, the S.S LadyBug has officially set sail! And in answer to Noob6's review, the Marionette does have a thing for Ruby. A plan, to be precise. **

Intermission 2: Perchance to Dream

"Give them pleasure - the same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare"

-Alfred Hitchcock

Ruby stood in a dark, cavernous room. The lights were off, but she could still see well enough to realize she was in the games room of Freddy Fazbears Pizzeria. In front of her was an old, arcade style game machine. In bold type, directly in the middle of the large screen, was the inviting message:

**START.**

With nothing else to do, she stepped forward, pushed the start button, and began to play.

The game seemed very old, with graphics reminding her of the old Sega Genesis she'd often played on with Yang when she was younger. The game itself was very basic, she appeared to be playing as Freddy Fazbear himself, bringing cake to a group of children. When a child turned red, it needed cake. A strange setting for a video game. After a few seconds, a strange, monotone voice began to call out letters.

_**S**_

She continued playing.

_**A**_

Ruby was having to speed up her play to keep up with the children.

_**V**_

She noticed a child, which appeared to be standing outside the building.

_**E**_

The child began to cry.

_**H**_

A dark, plum coloured car pulled up, and a purple man opened the car door and stepped out.

_**I**_

The child began to cry even harder as the purple man pulled a dull grey blade from somewhere about his person, and advanced.

_**M**_

The purple man kept walking, and Ruby was powerless to stop him. He reached the child, the blade flashed from right to left, and the child fell to the ground, in an expanding pool of red.

_You can't._

Ruby's eyes snapped open, to reveal her team's dorm. All seemed normal. Ceiling fan still in the night, lights off, Blake straddling her stomach and shaking her shoulders, whispering her name- Wait, what?

"Uh…. Hey, Blake?"

Blake sat back and stopped shaking her. "Sorry for waking you, but it seemed like you were having a nightmare. You kept muttering. The same thing over and over. "_I can't." _Are you ok?"

"Yeah… just a dream"

"More like a nightmare. Do you want to talk about it? You can speak to me about it you know."

"Hmm…Ok Blake, Ill speak to you about it. If, you get off my lap"

Blake was suddenly made aware of the position they were in. She blushed and removed herself from Ruby, before sitting at the far end of the young reapers bed.

"Right. Sorry"

Ruby was nonplussed. "It's fine. My nightmare… It was about the pizzeria"

Blake's face darkened. "I see. Can you tell me what happened?"

Ruby could. "Well, I was in the game room of the restaurant. And there was an arcade machine, and I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I started playing. It was weird. It had really old style graphics, and I was playing as Freddy Fazbear, you know, the bear robot. And I had to bring cake to children, but there was another child. It was just standing outside, crying. But then a car pulled up and a man in purple got out"

A deep pit opened in Blake's stomach.

"And then the purple man….He killed the child"

Blake's heart fell down the hole. The scenario Ruby had described was almost exactly the same as the one in that terrible book.

Blake then surprised both herself and Ruby by gathering the younger girl in a sudden hug.

"Don't worry Ruby, I'm here for you. Yang and Weiss to. Do you really think any of us would let anything happen to you?"

Ruby gazed up at the taller faunus, smiling warmly. "No. I know you wouldn't"

"Well then. Think you can go to bed now?" Blake noticed the uncertain look the girl gave her.

"You know what, get into bed, and then scoot over would you?"

"Ok, why?" Ruby complied, and was startled when Blake climbed under the covers holding her close. "Erm, Blake?"

"Hush, do you think you can sleep now?"

Ruby wasn't about to complain about the situation she was in, and so merely nodded. And so they lay together, Ruby had turned over and fallen asleep, something for which Blake was grateful. Now she could allow the blush she'd been doing her best to suppress flow freely over her face and neck. No. This didn't mean anything. It couldn't. She was just comforting a friend. That's all.


	7. Chapter 4: Faith and Love

**A/N Archemedies, back with the next chapter of this story, new and shiny! (well, maybe not shiny, but, you get the idea) And just to warn you, updates may slow down until I go back to school and once again have daily access to a computer. But, I digress. Hope you all enjoy this chapter, and review, favourite or follow if you feel this chapter deserves it! See you in the next chapter.**

Chapter 4: Faith and Love.

"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me"

-English standard Bible, Psalm 23:4

Ruby was pulled from her pleasantly dreamless sleep by the vibration of her alarm, which she'd placed against her chest before falling asleep. She tried to sit up, but was stopped by the pair of arms wrapped around her midriff. She couldn't help but give a slight chuckle as she removed herself from Blakes embrace and left the room, heading to her workplace. Strangely enough, Ruby found, that rather then thinking of it as a place of nightmares and horror, she was now thinking of it as merely, her workplace. She'd slept in her clothes, and felt well rested, and so decided to walk.

She stepped through the doors of the eatery and moved to her security office, sitting down in her now familier place behind the desk. A few minutes later, the recorder began to ring, clicked, and then played its message.

_"Hello hello! See? I told you you wouldn't have any problems!"_

_"Did...uh... Did Foxy ever appear in the hallway? Probably not. I was just curious. Like I said, he was always my favorite. They tried to remake Foxy, ya know? Uh, they thought the first one was too scary, so they redesigned him to be more kid-friendly and put him in Kid's Cove. To keep the toddlers entertained, you know... But kids these days just can't keep their hands to themselves. The staff literally has to put Foxy back together after every shift. So eventually they stopped trying and left him as some 'take apart and put back together' attraction. Now he's just a mess of parts. I think the employees refer to him as just "The Mangle." Uh..."_

_"Oh, hey, before I go, uh, I wanted to ease your mind about any rumors you might have heard lately. You know how these local stories come and go and seldom mean anything. I can personally assure you that, whatever is going on out there, and however tragic it may be, has nothing to do with our establishment. It's just all rumor and speculation... People trying to make a buck. You know... Uh, our guard during the day has reported nothing unusual. And he's on watch from opening til close"_

_"Okay, well anyway, hang in there and I'll talk to you tomorrow"_

_12:00_

Ruby's night was going as it normally did, no anamatronics had moved yet. Or so she thought, until she flashed her hall light to find Foxy standing at the far end of the hallway. She quickly flashed her light on and off down the corridor, before she heard staggering, fumbling footsteps echo, seemingly moving away from her. The next time she flashed her light, Foxy was gone, for which she was thankful. Not soon after that, the toy Bonnie moved from the show stage, and toy Chica soon followed.

_1:00_

Soon, the withered, faceless Bonnie left parts and service, and toy Chica moved out of the main hall and into the corridor. She flashed her light down the hall to find the animatronic staring at her. She pushed the head button, and after footsteps were heard from within the corridor, she took the helmet of and returned to looking through the monitor, quickly winding up the music box, before realizing that when she'd seen Chica in the hall, she hadn't been scared. She wondered what had caused this change, when, in her minds eye, she saw Blake, sleeping, arms wrapped around Ruby's stomach. The young huntress blushed, before thinking to herself sharply, _No Ruby, now is not the time. Focus!_

_2:00_

Toy Chica had moved into party room 4, and Bonnie stood in the main hall, while Toy bonnie was crouched in party room 2, seemingly about to enter the vents. Well that was just great. She switched back to the show stage camera to find that toy Freddy had left the show stage. Monty dammit.

_3:00_

With many of the animatronics having activated, and Toy Bonnie now in the vents and moving towards her, she looked to the game area to find toy Freddy standing, watching, and BB gone. At that moment, two sets of banging could be heard, and a quick check of the cameras revealed both bonnies in the vents. She quickly wound up the music box and pulled the freddy head down to hide herself, before more hollow thumping told her the twin menaces had left. She pulled up her monitor, rewound the music box, and watched the cameras until a rather loud, rather familier voice echoed from the left vent.

_4:00_

A check of the cameras revealed Balloon Boy had made his way into the vent. Ruby put the freddy head back on, waited until BB left, and rewound the box, before a strange static leaked from the tablet's speakers and she checked the game area to find that toy Freddy remained, but had been joined by the Mangle, which had entered the the room and now hung off of the small carousel, holding itself up using its long...Arms? Legs? Due to its distraught condition, it was very hard to tell. As the poison of fear began to flow through her, once again, that image of Blake, holding her close, rose up and quelled the tide.

_5:00_

She checked the hallway, found Foxy staring at her, and flashed her light several times to ward him off. When she checked her cameras, found the withered Chica standing in one of the party rooms. Its seemingly disconnected jaw hung wide open, its second set of endoskeleton teeth fully visible. For some reason its arms stuck staight out, giving it the appearance of a capital T. Ruby guessed its arms had rusted into that position due to its neglect. She switched to her game area camera and found both toy Freddy and Mangle had gone. Before she had time to locate them, her tablet gave a chime.

_6:00_

Her tablet then abruptly stopped functioning. Well, she'd never noticed that before. As she stood, she wondered if the animatronics had returned to their places. As she stared down the dark corridor, a feeling of fear overtook her. She summoned her thoughts of Blake and pushed through the darkness.


	8. Intermission 3: Take your sister to work

**A/N: Hello, I'm back with the third intermission, and first things first...Happy New Year! 4 Days Late! Any way, heres the next chapter, hope you like this story, Review, Follow and Favourite if you want to. Archemedies, away!**

Intermission 3: "Bring your sister to work day"

"If you're an older sibling, and you have a younger sibling who needs mentoring or is afraid of the dark, you develop nurturing and empathetic skills that you wouldn't otherwise"

-Jeffrey Kluger

Ruby staggered down the Vale high street, loaded to breaking point with an incredibly diverse array of shampoos, conditioners, treatments and bottles for which the contents, Ruby had no name. Under the pretence of a sale on assorted hair products, Yang had dragged into her into the town's market district, as on that day they had no lessons. That is how Ruby found herself struggling along, bearing enough strange, exotic mixtures to placate the wrath of any self-obsessed deity who happened to wander through downtown Vale.

"Yang, how many more?" Ruby couldn't keep an (understandable) whine out of her quistion as she trudged along, feeling if she had to carry even one more bottle, she'd collapse. At which point Yang very promptly stepped into her field of vision, and placed another bottle onto the precarious stack she clutched with both arms. This had the expected effect.

"C'mon Rubes, that's everything. Help me put the stuff in these bags, we'll go get lunch, then head home. Ok?"

Ruby gave a groan.

"That's the spirit! C'mon!"

With that, Ruby was bundled to Yang's idling motorbike, where the bags where hung above the bike's back tire, and soon, both girls where sitting, contemplating where to go for lunch.

"Oh yeah, you work at a diner, don't you? Freddy Fazbears right? Let's go there! You can show me your workplace!"

Ruby was reluctant, but the earnest look her sister wore so well brooked no argument. She gave the appropriate directions, and soon they were speeding their way through the streets.

Within minutes, they arrived at the pizzeria, and had just ordered when the animatronics walked out on to the show stage and began their act, much to the joy of the assembled children. As the robots sang and waved their arms, the children cheered away while Yang and Ruby watched the act. Soon the act was over, and the animatronics, much to Ruby's unease, came down off the show stage and began walking amongst the tables and chairs that comprised the room's layout.

"Wow that's pretty neat, don't ya think?" Yang exclaimed.

"Yeah. Real neat" The tone of Ruby's voice earned her a concerned look from Yang. However, before she could begin to quistion her sister, the skinny, chicken like animatronic strode over to their table. In one hand it carryed its cupcake, and in the other a tray which bore their pizzas. It layed them on the table, and turned and left without a word. They ate in silence for a few seconds before Yang put down her slice with enough deliberation to garner Ruby's attention, and cause her to stop eating as well.

"Ruby, are you alright?"

"...Yeah? Why?"

Yang looked her in the eye, before replying: "You seem tense, and when that thing came over here, you almost crapped yourself. Now, either you have a previously unknown fear of chickens, or there's something you're not telling me" This was followed by an intense stare.

"Well... There was something that happened-"

"Why hello there Ruby!"

Both girls turned to find Cyrus had entered the room, and was now hobbling towards them, relying heavily on his cane.

"My, my, what a surprise, trying to pick up some extra overtime, aye?"

Ruby laughed. "No, just showing my sister, Yang, my workplace"

Cyrus turned to Yang, an amiable smile on his face.

"Well, happy to have you here, if you want Ruby, once you two have finished your meals, you can show her around your office, I'm sure Jeremy won't mind, he's the day guard"

Ruby nodded. "Thanks Cyrus, we'll do that"

Soon they had finished their pizzas, and were strolling towards the office. They reached it quickly, and Ruby stood in the corridor until the guard noticed her, to be greeted with a rather enthusiastic, "Come in!"

They entered the room, and introduced themselves.

"Hey, I'm Ruby, I'm the night guard, just thought I'd show my sister the workplace, if that's alright with you?"

"Yeah, that's fine with me. I'm Jeremy, the day guard"

He extended his hand, and each sister shook it, before he turned back to his tablet. Ruby looked back at Yang to find her looking about the office with inquisitive eyes. Ruby was glad she seemed to have dropped her earlier line of questioning. She really didn't want Yang worrying over her.

Ruby was startled out of her thoughts by the day guard.

"So, you're the night guard, ay? You enjoying your time at the pizzeria?"

"Yeah, it's a pretty cool place"

Yang tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, I'm gonna go start up the bike, you gonna be long?"

"No, I'll be out soon, you go" Yang gave her an odd look, before leaving the office. As she made her way out of the building, she stopped to allow a group of children to pass her, as they ran out of the prize corner, giggling and chattering amongst themselves, many of them clutching plushie versions of the band members. As she turned to watch them go, she didn't notice the three fingered, purple and white hand that reached out the door, and placed a small yellow package into the bag slung at her waist.

Ruby turned to find Jeremy watching her intently. She was startled when he leaned forward and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Did they move for you too?"

"Erm…"

"The animatronics, did they move?"

"….yeah"

He released her, and sat back in his chair.

"Oh thank god, I thought I was crazy. With the look's Cyrus gave me, I thought I was"

"Yeah, they move. Some of them came into my office"

His face darkened. "They did that to me too. They didn't do anything though. I put the head on."

"Same"

They sat in silence for a few seconds. The revving of a motor bike broke them both out of there reveries.

"Right, I better be going, or my sister will start worrying, or worse, immediately assume we're dating because we had a conversation"

He gave a short bark of laughter. "Hah, my sister's the same. But we haven't spoken in a while"

As Ruby left the room, she turned back and said: "Oh yeah, I forgot to ask, did you get those messages while you were working?"

"Messages?"

"Yeah, on the recorder, there was a guy who left some messages, did you get those? He sounded like a guard"

He gave her a confused look. "No, I didn't"

"Oh, ok, never mind then"

As she left the building, and walked towards Yang's waiting motorcycle, she couldn't shake off a feeling of unease.

Yang had driven them home, and soon Ruby was sleeping, Weiss had gone to the library to study, and Blake had gone with her to read. Yang removed her bag from around her waist, and reached in to remove her purse, but instead her hand closed on a small yellow box, tied with ribbon of the same colour. She smiled, as she was often given gifts by those who judged themselves as potential suitors. Her smile quickly faded upon seeing the contents. A pair of fingerless gloves, seemingly made to fit a child. The palms of the gloves were coated in a suspicious, dark brown substance, which smelled faintly of copper. She didn't need three guesses to work out what it was. Underneath the gloves was a note. It read:

_I've been waiting to give you these for some time, you know. But I just haven't had the chance before now. You remind me of someone, you know. All that hair, all the yellow…._

_Have you ever heard the story of the three bears? Well, you'd be surprised how quickly it all changes, when goldilocks is one of them. But then again, you've probably told your sister that story countless times, have you not? But then again, she had no mother to read it, did she. But ask yourself: Do you really know whats going on in her head? How good have you really looked after her, hmm? You don't even know whats going on, do you? What happens every night?_

_You can't save her Yang. _

Ruby stood in front of the same game machine as before, with the same start up screen flashing.

_**START**_

She pressed start, and began the game.

This time, it was different, she appeared to playing as Foxy, and she stood in the entrance of a small room, bordered by purple curtains. A countdown appeared at the top of the screen.

_**3**_

_**2**_

_**1**_

_**GO!**_

She used the joystick to run out of the room and down a corridor, into a room full of children, who cheered.

The screen flickered, and she was back where she'd started.

_**3**_

_**2**_

_**1**_

_**GO!**_

Once again, she sprinted down the hall and entered the room, to the cheers of the assembled children. The screen flickered, and once again, she was in that room, this time, however, there was the same, tall, purple man, who'd appeared in the first game.

_**3**_

_**2**_

_**1**_

_**GO!**_

She ran down the hallway, but when she reached the room, there were no cheers. Where the children had stood, there were now bodies, lying upon the ground. At the back of the room, stood Freddy, but, he was a startling gold in colour.

Suddenly, a darkness descended upon her, and when her eyes opened again, she was in a different place. At least, she thought they were her eyes. What she saw made her doubt that fact. She was looking through a pair of holes, like when she put on her mask. After a moment of confusion, she attempted to look around, to find she was in one of the party rooms. She looked further to her right. And jumped 10 feet into the air when she realized Bonnie was sitting right next to her. Or at least, she tried to jump, but found herself unable to move in any way but to look around the room. She turned to the left to see Chica looking directly at her. She looked around for a few more seconds, before a high pitched buzzing noise filled her ears, static washed across her vision, and her world turned black. Except for two words, in the corner of her vision.

_It's me._


	9. Chapter 5: Tampering? Or something else?

**A/N: Archemedies, back with the next chapter of my story. And somethings been bothering me. Lately, to me at least, it seems the quality of these chapters has been going downhill. I would quite like you guys/girls/others opinions as to whether or not these chapters are still as good as they were at the beginning of this story. If you lot think this storys still good, and it ends well, I'm thinking of doing a second story after this, an RWBY story, centering around a team of OCs and their interactions with the other members o the RWBY-verse. But thats a tale for another time, I'm going to focus on this story first, and then might move my second. Any way, heres the chapter, follow, favorite, and please review as to the quality of this chapter. I'd quite lik to know your opinions.**

Chapter 5: Tampering? Or something else?

"Things are not always as they seem; the first appearance deceives many." – Phaedrus

Ruby woke to the vibration of her alarm, and, still shaken by her strange dream, got dressed, towelled the sweat from her face, and left.

She reached her destination quickly, and sat down behind her desk, as the message began to play.

_12:00_

_"Hello? Hello? Uh, hey there, night four! I told you you'd get the hang of it!_ "

_"Ok, so uh, just to update you, uh, there's been somewhat of an, uh, investigation going on. Uh, we may end up having to close for a few days... I don't know. I want to emphasize though that it's really just a precaution. Uh, Fazbear Entertainment denies any wrongdoing. These things happen sometimes. Um... It'll all get sorted out in a few days. Just keep an eye on things and I'll keep you posted"_

_"Uh, just as a side note though, try to avoid eye contact with any of the animatronics tonight if you can. Someone may have tampered with their facial recognition systems - we're not sure. But the characters have been acting very unusual, almost aggressive towards the staff. They interact with the kids just fine, but when they encounter an adult, they just...stare"_

_"Uh...Anyways, hang tight. It'll all pass. Good night!_"

That seemed ominous. She scrolled through the cameras, wondering what this night could entail. If someone had tampered with their systems, then she could be in for a bad night. And who would do something like that that? For a moment her thoughts turned to that strange purple man, before she noticed that Bonnie had already left parts and service, and was in the main hall, while Chica had moved as well. Well that was just great. She flicked on her light to see Foxy standing at the far end of the hallway, glaring ominously. She flashed her light at it several times, and was shocked to see its only visible pupil noticeably dilate. Only living things did that, didn't they? Shaking the thought from her mind, she pulled up her monitor and wound up the music box. As soon as her view was obscured, scraping, staggering footsteps were heard from the corridor, and she flashed her light to find the hallway empty.

_1:00_

Soon, the animatronics began to move closer, although far more aggressively than they had previously. Which she discovered when she lowered her tablet to find Chica standing just over an arms length away from her. As soon as her reflexes allowed, she slammed her button and the head dropped onto her. The lights flickered, and soon the rather terrifying robot was gone. That was good. She picked up her tablet and flicked to the prize corner camera, and radio static filled the room, tearing mercilessly at her ears. She refocused on the small screen, and saw the mutilated mass of machinery that was the Mangle, clinging to the ceiling of the small room. It appeared to be the source of the static. She wound up the music box, and flashed her light down the dark corridor to find it empty still. At least something was going her way.

_2:00_

*Thump,thump*

_Hi._

Montydammit.

A quick check revealed BB sitting in the left air vent, looking ever so smug. Damn, she hated his face SO much right now. She put her mask on until he left, and when't back to winding the music box, until the static increased in volume, and she checked her cameras to find that the Mangle had situated itself under a table in one of the party rooms, head pressed close to the ground. One of them at least. What seemed to be an endoskeleton head, protruded on the end of a mechanical tendril, peering balefully over the table and at the camera. Strangely enough, the costume head only had one eye, while the endoskeleton skull contained the other. She wondered whether that had been the work of the toddlers Mangle worked with. But that was unimportant. Because BB was in the Montydamned vents, AGAIN.

_Hi._

Oh, shut up.

_3:00_

After using the mask to ward BB off, she checked the hall, and Bonnie stood in the hall, watching malevolently. She flashed her light to hold it in place, and checked her cameras to find the Mangle had moved closer, still emitting that noise, the grinding static that grated on her thoughts. It now crouched in the main hall, like some kind of predator. The was another succession of thumping noises, and the cameras revealed the withered Chica in the vents. She put up the monitor to wind the music box, and lowered it, flashing the light to find that Foxy stood in the corridor. She stunned him with her light, and put up the monitor, but as soon as she did so, the static increased tenfold, flooding her senses.

_4:00_

She slammed on her light, to reveal Foxy still standing in the hall, while, clinging to the ceiling, staring at her with both heads, eyes glowing a deep red. She flashed them both, and watched the Mangles eyes dim. taking that as a good thing, she wound up the box, and when she checked again, both foxes were gone. Hopefully for good.

_5:00_

After clearing out the hall, withered Chica left the vents, returning to the party room. Bonnie remained in the hall, and when she checked the parts and service room, Foxy stood in the center of the room. Freddy, however, was nowhere to be seen. As if aware of her revelation, a deep, booming voice echoed through the pizzeria.

_You ready for Freddy?_

She snapped upright. The voice had been close. Too close. She turned on the light, and almost died, right then and there, when she saw Freddy, the old Freddy, standing outside her office, seemingly about to lean in and grab her. The music box beeped, and she grabbed the tablet to wind up the box and when she lowered it, the animatronic was in the room with her. She lowered the tablet, dropped the Freddy head on, and the lights flickered. When they stablized, Freddy was gone, and her tablet gave a chime.

_6:00_

She stood, and walked out of the building, before she realized she'd left something behind. There had been a 5 lien coin in her pocket, but it must have fallen out at somepoint during the night. She looked back at the pizzeria, silhouetted against the night sky, and wondered whether it was worth going back in for. As she stood there, a hollow, deep laughter echoed from within the building.

_Ain't nobody got time for that._

She turned and sprinted home.


	10. Intermission 4:Sudden romance!

**A/N: Hello, it's me, Archemedies, back with an incredibly late update. *Ehem, 2 months late,Ehem* Sorry, COD: Advanced Warfare, Scary Movie 4, multiple animes, GCSE choices, and falling down the stairs several times have all conspired to delay this chapter. But no longer! Any way, here's the newest chapter, and I just want to say, thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows you guys/girls/others have been slinging my way. I love reading the reviews and seeing what you think about my story. That being said, feel free to drop a review once you're finished reading, they really make my day. Enjoy!**

Intermission 4: Sudden romance, out of nowhere!

"Everything went better than expected"

-The internet.

Weiss had gone shopping. Contrary to what you might think, she didn't do it all that often. But she was on the hunt for a new tiara, after her old one she used to keep her hair back, had been broken in a training exercise. Ruby had sliced at the boartubusk that been released into the arena, but had slipped and almost taken Weiss's head off her shoulders. Luckily, the blade had only scratched across her tiara, snapping it. After that single, abortive attempt at attacking, she had crumpled. It had taken quick action from all three remaining fighters to stop the grimm from tearing into her prone form.

After the grimm had been dispatched, she was sent to the nurse, who had pronounced her to be suffering from sleep deprivation, and sent her to bed, excusing her from lessons. The rest of team RWBY had drifted through their lessons, but all had their minds focused on one thing. Ruby. After they'd finished the day's lessons, they'd returned to their dorm, with Blake sitting reading, and Yang simply staring intently at their sleeping leader. Weiss had left for Vale, with a new tiara in mind. This was how she came to be standing outside of the _Dust n' Diamonds _jewellery store in the center of Vale. They were the only shop that stocked her tiaras.

She entered the brightly lit shop floor, and was immediately beset upon by a shop assistant.

"Hello ma'am, is there anything I can help you with?"

"No"

She left the startled worker in her wake as she steamed towards the front desk. The manager, speaking to a cashier behind the desk, was suddenly the subject of her icy gaze. He turned.

"Why hello- Oh, miss Schnee, I wasn't aware you were coming. What can I get you?"

"Another tiara, same make as before"

"Certainly, Miss Schnee, as a matter of fact, we have a package for you!"

Weiss pushed the ensuing confusion from her features.

"Ah, yes, well, bring the boxes out then"

"Certainly!"

After a second shop worker had brought the two boxes out, Weiss asked the manager, as non-chalantly as possible:

"So, who is this gift from, may I ask?"

The manager seemed downright bewildered.

"Well, they left no name, and paid with cash. I assumed it was someone known to you"

Weiss took the boxes and left without another word.

She sat on a bench outside the shop, and opened both boxes. The one in which her tiara resided was standard, nothing out of the ordinary. The second box, however, was grimy, and the sides were covered in scratches. She opened this, and found a tiara, almost exactly the same as hers, sitting in the padded box. However, it bore several large scratches, and there was a rectangular hole punched through the front piece of the accessory, as if a sharp object had been thrust through it, and, judging from the crusted blood around the hole, through the skull of whoever had been wearing it at the time. Underneath the forsaken crown, was a note. On pure white paper, and scribed in a deep blue print, were the following words:

_Hello there Weiss, you don't know me, but I certainly know you. Probably better then you know yourself. But that doesn't concern you. What does concern you, is the contents of this box. This tiara belonged to a good friend of mine, a long time ago. But that doesn't matter. She's dead now. There're all dead. But at the same time, still alive. I want to ask you a question. Do you know the face of evil? It can be anywhere, it can hide deep within family, friends and lovers. Those you trust most can betray you in a second. Do you have someone, you treat as a god? Love, worship and idolize? _

_Don't ever trust your idols. They're never what they seem._

_And they'll cut you down._

_Stab you in the back._

_Just like they did to me._

_But then, you'd know all about back stabbing, wouldn't you? You're father gave you a perfect example. Shipping you off to become a poster girl for his company. How do's it feel to know you're not loved? _

_Oh. Too much?_

Weiss tossed the damaged box into the bin beside the bench, took her own tiara, and walked back to the dorm, bristling with cold fury. As always, a true insult had struck the deepest.

Ruby sat on the torn stool, in front of the now familiar game machine, as the flashing start message made its presence known.

She pushed start, and began the game.

This time, on screen were four bodies, children, judging from their sizes, one in each corner of the otherwise empty square room. In the center of the room, was a tall, lanky sprite, which floated above the ground, and seemed to represent the Marionette. At the top of the screen flashed the words:

_**GIVE GIFTS.**_

With no further instruction seeming likely, she moved the puppets sprite to the first of the children. When she reached it, a large gift box appeared next to the child's still form. She repeated the process with the rest of the bodies, and upon completion, the Marionette moved, of its own accord, back to the center of the room. The text at the top of the screen changed.

_**GIVE LIFE.**_

She drifted toward the first body, and was shocked when the box opened, and on the child's head, appeared a mask, exactly the same as Bonnies. She performed the same….._operation_ on the other three bodies, placing upon their prone forms, the heads of Chica, Foxy and Freddy. For a split second, she thought she saw a fifth body appear in the center of the screen. But then darkness fell upon her, and she lost herself in the black.

When her vision cleared, she was in the same room as before, a dusty party room. The same, heavy helmet weighed upon her skull. She looked to the left and right, to find that the two animatronics now stared menacingly at her. Their jaws hung open, both sets of teeth visible. Those of the costume, and those of the endoskeleton within.

When she returned her gaze too directly in front of herself, her neck suddenly made a loud cracking noise, and she found herself unable to shift her view. As panic began to mount, she began breathing quicker, or at least, she tried to, before realizing she couldn't breath. The weight of a mountain pressed upon her chest, crushing her lungs, and she raised her arms to find them covered in the same brown, synthetic fur that covered Freddy itself. Before she could contemplate this, the world fell to static, and two, familiar words appeared at the top of her field of vision.

_**ITS ME.**_

Ruby snapped awake, shaking in the night's breeze. Yang and Weiss slept soundly, while Blake sat upright in her bed, eyes on her book.

"Blake?"

At this, Blake fixed her eyes on Ruby, and put her book down, moving over to where Ruby lay.

"Are you OK?"

Ruby winced.

"No….. That same dream again. But different. Stranger"

Blake grabbed the edge of Ruby's bunk bed, and pulled herself up to Ruby's eye level.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

The young reaper thought for a moment, before shaking her head. She didn't feel altogether comfortable speaking about it.

Blake regarded her skeptically, before climbing down, and walking back to her own bed.

"Wait!"

Blake snapped her head around at Ruby's outburst, before her features softened as she took in Ruby's expression.

"Yes?"

"Can you...Sleep with me?"

Blake's eye's widened, and she took a step back.

"Wait! No! Not like that... but just...with me. To stop the dreams"

Blake stared at her for a few seconds, before giving an exasperated sigh, before climbing up with her, and settling down at her side.

They stayed, frozen like that for some time, until Ruby, very hesitantly, tried to pull Blake into a hug, only to have the older girl snap around to face her.

"...Sorry"

Much to Ruby's suprise, Blake smiled.

"Don't worry, it's fine. Turn over"

Ruby complied, and Blake wrapped her arms around the younger girl. Ruby stiffened for a second, before relaxing and snuggling into Blake.

The two stayed that way for sometime, until Blake felt Ruby slump in her arms. Taking that as a sign Ruby was asleep, she loosened her hold, and lay down, relaxed, on the crimsonettes bed. As she felt the tides of sleep rise up around her, she gazed down on Ruby, and in a moment that would change both their lives, she leaned forward, and planted a kiss on the side of her face, before succumbing to the world of dreams and nightmares.

Rubylay, still awake half an hour later, lay very still, her face burning. Blake, had, out of no-where, kissed her.

Well, that was a thing.


	11. Chapter 6: In memorandum

**A/N: Archimedies, back with the fith night of this barely-classifiable literature, that I hope you'll all enjoy. But past that, I only heard yesterday about the death of Monty Oum. I don't know how this fact escaped me, but I have only sorrow for his passing. But, he will all ways be remembered. **

**R.I.P Monty Oum. 1982-2015**

Chapter 6: In memorandum.

_"I believe that the human spirit is indomitable. If you endeavor to achieve, it will happen given enough resolve. It may not be immediate, and often your greater dreams is something you will not achieve within your own lifetime. The effort you put forth to anything transcends yourself, for there is no futility even in death." -Monty Oum_

Due to the...Rather surprising events that had transpired, Ruby was still awake when her alarm trilled at her that it was time to leave for her fifth night at freddy's.

"Hmm...Time to go to Freddy's...Yay..."

She quickly tried to stand, only to be stopped in her tracks by the arms around her waist.

"Montydammit..."

She pried Blake off, after some trying, and much wishing for a crowbar. Soon enough, she was dressed and on her way to her workplace.

Within minutes, she was sitting behind her desk, as the answer machine began to ring.

12:00

_"Hello, hello? Hey, good job, night 5! Um, hey, um, keep a close eye on things tonight, ok? Um, from what I understand, the building is on lock-down, uh, no one is allowed in or out, y'know, especially concerning any...previous employees"_

_"Um, when we get it all sorted out, we may move you to the day shift, a position just became...available. Uh, we don't have a replacement for your shift yet, but we're working on it. Uh, we're going to try to contact the original restaurant owner. Uh, I think the name of the place was..."Fredbear's Family Diner" or something like that. It's been closed for years though, I doubt we'll be able to track anybody down. Well, just get through one more night! Uh, hang in there! Goodnight!"_

Hmm. That sounded ominous. She wondered what happened to the previous day guard. Jeremy had seemed nice enough. Hopefully, nothing bad had happened to him. But being moved to day shift seemed good. All though it wouldn't affect her much, as she didn't plan to do this Oumdamned job any longer than she had to to get that cookie. Then she was done.

She checked the cameras, and was shocked to find, only minutes after her clock had struck 12, the animatronic rabbit had moved from it's resting place on the stage, and now lurked in party room 4. It seemed the robots were becoming more and more active as the nights progressed. Just another nail in the coffin. Soon enough, Bonnie shuffled from parts and service and into the hall. They always seemed to be the first to move. Every time. It was odd. Not that the situation she was in was in any way normal.

1:00

She sat, staring at the monitor, and every so often winding the music box, as the twin terrors came ever closer. There was something that kept distracting her, something niggling at the back of her mind, that she couldn't quite place. She was pulled from her attempts to figure out what it was when a loud scraping noise echoed from down the hall. She flashed her light to find Foxy standing in the middle of the hall, arms outstretched, and teeth glinting in the light. She flashed him, and then raised the camera again. His footsteps echoed, slowly moving away, and she checked her cams to find Chica had decided it was high time to leave to.

2:00

A little while later, as she sat in her office chair, Ruby was once again distracted by that...smell. That's what it was. An odd smell, hanging thick in the air. Slightly coppery. But she couldn't work out what it was. The music box beeped for her attention, and she wound it up,before flickering her light, to find Foxy standing in the corridor, with Mangle pressed close to the ceiling, mouth gaping wide. Ruby had never seen two animatronics together before. She flashed her light at the two of them, and heard a set of footsteps, going away from the office. A. As in, only one. She sent light back down the hall to find Mangle now clinging to the wall on one side of the hall, glaring menacingly.

3:00

Ruby put on her mask, until the static which signified the Mangle's presence faded out of her hearing. After checking the cameras for what seemed like the hundredth time that night, she saw toy Freddy had left the stage, and now stood in the game area, while BB was nowhere to be found. A timid:

_Hi._

Told her exactly were the smug little idiot had decided to go. She put her mask back on, until clanging from the vents told her BB had left the vent, giving Ruby the chance to wind the music box, and check the cameras again, revealing BB to have returned to his place.

Only, a few seconds later, after putting the tablet down, she heard:

_Hello._

"OH MY GOD, WILL YOU SHUT UP!"

After that, she heard the distinctive banging sound of someone leaving the vents. She could of sworn she also caught a childish voice say quietly:

_Yes boss. _

_Sorry boss._

"You best be sorry"

_5:00_

Sometime later, she was sitting as quietly as humanly possible, Freddy mask on her head. The reason for this, was that her angry cry had drawn the attention of Freddy, who now loomed in the doorway, with his terrifying smile.

_You ready?_

Oh god, i am not ready for this.

She sat tensely, in complete silence, as Frddey stood in the doorway of her office, swaying slightly. The monitor began to flash its bone chilling warning.

Oh god. Please. Six o'clock please. Please? Please?

_6:00_

The lights in the office flickered, and when they stabilized, Freddy was gone, and the monitor had ceased its beeping.

Thank god.

She pulled herself up from the chair, and left the building as quickly as her little legs could carry her.


End file.
